The Trio and Rio
by PolandSpringz
Summary: When a typhoon hits the village, Rio is stuck at Neil's house for the weekend, along with Allen and Rod! What will happen with the trio and Rio? (We have one chapter left, I think?)
1. Prologue

Prologue

The blonde haired tsundere sat leaned back at his kitchen table, the storm outside his house pounding against his locked windows and closed doors. He stirred sugar into his tea with no emotion as the news on the television informed him of current storm updates.

"And so…continue into tomorrow morning and the next day….keep all…" The boring meteorologist went on and on about things all the villagers with a brain already knew and assumed about. The townsfolk were used to these storms, in fact, Dunhill had tracked them for a while. Everything was going to be closed and everyone would be safe inside. The town would appear abandoned to any outsider or lost traveler. Even the hotel would be shut down in this weather. Neil sighed as he flipped the television off and groaned again before getting up and stretching his body.

"I wonder how Rio is right now…" Neil mumbled as he thought back to what she had told him earlier today before the typhoon had hit. She had ranted to him as she purchased her fifth chicken about what her errands were for the rest of that day. Neil had pretended not to listen at all, but of course he actually was. He just couldn't show it because then he would seem too interested in her life which was almost identical to what he did, except for the fact that he didn't fiddle with dirt and plants or foraged for items to ship.

_"So," Rio had continued as Neil leaned against the edge of the counter, "I literally have to buy like a million different crops and somehow plant them all and harvest them in my amazingly small field before the season ends or buy a couple of plants that will regrow throughout the season. What's your opinion on it Neil?" Neil sighed as she pointed to an animal treat and held up two fingers. He watched her fumble with her new chicken which was in a headlock under her arm as she fiddled to get the money out of her overall's front pocket and he internally laughed as the chicken clucked and pecked at her waist and arm in anger._

_"It depends. How much money do each of the crops cost you?" He started to hand her a bag of the treats when her realized her rucksack open on the counter and he just slipped it inside there instead._

_"Well, they all vary, but most of them are between 200-500 gold."_

_"How many do you intend to buy?"_

_"At least ten of each."_

_"And how much money will you have when you leave here?" He cocked an eyebrow at her and watched in amusement as she bowed her head in embarrassment almost and an awkward smile crawled on her face as she sighed._

_"Zero, most likely."_

_"Why do you even buy all of this stuff? You bought the same amount of fodder the day before? You better not be overfeeding your cows and sheep."_

_"I'm not, I just get worried that if I can't get into town for a couple of days and I run out I'll be in trouble."  
"Then just buy large quantities like a normal person!"  
"I think it's better to buy a little at a time than to buy a lot at once. It helps save money, you know?"  
"I guess."_

_"I also have to forage through the mountains for most of the day. It's summer, so that means it's the best time for catching cicadas."_

_"You do realize a typhoon is on it's way, right? The mountains are the most unreasonable place to be today."_

_"I know but…"_

_Neil had gotten exhausted from the constant chitchat and he shooed her away._

_"If you aren't going to buy anything else you might as well just leave." He hissed and she started to look offended and she took a step back. Neil forced a snarky smile before he said, "You've got a lot of work ahead of you right now, don't you?"_

A frantic knock to the door interrupted his memory and Neil walked slowly across the room but when the knocking became more and more frantic he almost jogged there. He unbolted it and yanked it open with ease, revealing a damp Allen and Rod.

"Allen?! Rod?! What the hell?" Neil yelled as the two laughed nervously as they practically forced themselves into his house. Neil shut the door before turning to face the two that were dripping onto his hardwood floor.

"Sorry, Neil. We were out on a walk when the storm started up. Your house was the closet so we just decided to come here. Hope you don't mind?" Rod asked and Neil sighed.

"Hey, do you have a towel? This rainwater will ruin my hair unless I dry it myself." Allen asked in his typical sassy voice. Neil scowled but he groaned as he spun on his heel and trudged up the staircase to fetch towels for his two unexpected houseguests. As he opened the bathroom door, he yelled down to the two.

"How long ago did you guys head out on a walk? The storm has been raging on for at least an hour now."

"Actually, it was only a couple of minutes ago." Rod stated.

"You willingly went out on a walk in the middle of a hurricane?!" The bathroom door slammed. "Apparently you two are bigger idiots than I thought because if I walked out of the house in the middle of a storm, I would immediately turn around and step back inside. What's wrong with you guys?"

"Actually, we were on our way to see Rio." Allen said as a towel was chucked from the staircase to him and it smacked him in the face.

"Yeah. We were worried that with all her errands today she would still try to head out in the storm."

Neil felt a twinge of annoyance in his head. No, it wasn't annoyance. He turned away for a moment as realization came over him. He kept mistaking annoyance for disappointment. He was disappointed in the fact that he had deluded himself into thinking that Rio only told him what she was going to do. Of course she would tell the other villagers, they were her friends too.

"What did she say?" Neil asked a little rudely.

"We didn't get to see her." Rod said and Neil's shoulder drooped but he straightened them before turning around to face the two men once again with his usual stoic expression.

"I'm guessing you two plan on staying the night then?"  
"I guess we are." Allen and Rod looked at each other and Neil started to sigh again when another knock disturbed him.

"God who is it this time. I'm not a hotel you know! We have one of those for a reas-Woah Rio?!" Neil opened the door to reveal a shivering and soaked blonde hair girl who was hunched over and barely looking up at the man in front of her. She had changed clothes from her usual overalls to a red eastern short dress and her hair was tied up in two buns resting on the top of her head. Neil blushed when he saw her blue eyes look up at him with sadness. She was like a lost puppy.

"Hey Neil…" She whispered as she sneezed at his feet.

"Rio?! What are you doing here and…and…in that?!"

"In what?" Allen and Rod craned their necks to see over Neil's shoulder as they rubbed their head with the small towels.

"Nothing!" Neil yelled as he pushed him hand against the door frame.

"Is there something wrong with it?" She wrapped her arms around herself.  
"Besides the fact that you are wearing that in the middle of a hurricane, yes, in fact, there is!"

"Ah! Neil, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you wouldn't like it… I was heading back to my farm when lightning and thunder started happening and your house was the closet nearby so, I'm really sorry but would you mind-" She started to bow.

"Don't bend over!" Neil shouted as the girl snapped back, her drooping loose buns of hair almost slapping him in the face.

"I'm sorry!"

"You don't have to…Argh! Just get in here you little!" Neil grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her hard into the hallway and rushed upstairs to get a towel. When he returned he pointed to the bathroom.

"You can take a shower if you want. I'll give you a change of clothes for the night."  
"Why don't we get a warm shower and change of clothes?" Allen asked, crossing his arms.

"Neil, that's not fair!"  
"Yes it is! She was actually doing work while the two of you were just wandering around in a hurricane! Anyway, just get to it. You can leave your clothes hanging upstairs. I'll throw them in the dryer eventually."

"Ok…" Rio mumbled as she started to take her hair out as she walked towards the staircase. She pushed her body up the first stair when she turned around and smiled at Neil and bowed again.

"Thank you Neil."  
"Just go up there and don't bend over again!"


	2. Shrove Tuesday

"Umm…Neil…?" A quiet voice mumbled softly from the staircase as the three boys on the couch directed their attention away from the television and to the girl. All three of them immediately had a faint pink dusting their cheeks.

"Y-y-yes?!" He yelled and the three stood up almost like soldiers.

"I'm hungry." She whined almost like a child as she yanked on the grayish wrinkled and oversized t-shirt Neil had graciously given her. Rod's face turned bright red as she waddled over to the three and wrapped her arms around their necks, pulling them all together and knocking them all over in the process. Allen covered his mouth and glanced away nervously and Neil tried to hide his blush as he pushed her body off of him.

"I-I-I c-can't do anything about it if you're pushing me down like that!" He stuttered and eventually the girl let go and stood before the three men who all sighed before returning their gazes to her.

"So, Neil," Rod asked, leaning over his shoulder, "What are you going to feed us?"

"I don't recall ever promising you two food."

"Are you saying you were only going to feed you and her?" Allen asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, I'm not actually used to…Rio what are you doing?!" Neil yelled as he dashed over to the kitchen, stopping the girl as she began to gathering cartons of eggs and milk from his fridge and stumbled over the counter. Allen caught her when she started to fall and Rod slid on his stomach on the floor to catch the bottle of milk.

"It's Shrove Tuesday." She frowned, looking up at the boy who seemed rather defeated, having to babysit the other three for hopefully only the next night. "It's one day before Lent begins. Today you are supposed to eat a lot of food or something, at least I recall my mother telling me something like that on this day."

"Then why do you have the ingredients for pancakes?" Rod asked as he set the bottle of milk down.

"On Shrove Tuesday you are supposed to eat Pancakes!" She beamed as she leaned up as she reached for a glass bowl inside the top cabinet. Neil sighed again and pushed her out of the way with a slight hip bump before placing his hand over hers and helping her support the heavy bowl. He immediately began to pour different ingredients into the bowl and stir vigorously while she stared up at him. Allen and Rod leaned back against the fridge and Allen whispered something illegible to the strawberry blonde, causing him to erupt in laughter.

"What?" Neil scowled at the two as he started to pour the mixture onto a pan.

"Oh, nothing, just you two." Rod tried to stifle another laugh as Allen mumbled something again, a dirty smirk crawling across his face.

"I swear you two are so damn lucky that I haven't tossed you out by now."

"Oh come now you three." The girl pouted as Neil flipped a pancake over the stove. "We're having pancakes for supper! Let's enjoy ourselves! Allen, Rod, go set the table. Shoo, shoo." She waved the boys out of the kitchen and leaned her body weight against Neil's arm, her head nuzzling in between the crook in his neck, sending a shiver of nervousness up his spine. To the girl, this was just an innocent gesture between friends but to the boy, god, he almost slammed the pancake into the ceiling when he felt her breathing slow.

"Rio, do you like pancakes?" He asked, trying to break the ice and remain his composure.

"Yeah." She muttered sleepily. "My dad used to make them all the time when I was a kid on Sundays and then we would have them throughout the week. Then we got busy as we got older and we haven't had them again to this day." A hint of sadness in her voice trailed off and she beamed another smile at the boy as she clutched onto his arm, making him turn and face her. He looked into her blue eyes and watched them twinkle with happiness. "Thank you Neil."

A flash of thunder outside erupted as Allen called to them from the kitchen's entrance.

"Aye, lovebirds, get over here with the food."

"Neil! Come on let's eat!"

"Yes, yes." He said as he put all the pancakes onto a large platter and walked out into the dining room, wrapping one arm around Rio's neck as he dragged her with him. The three cheered as Neil grumbled something as he set down the platter on the table, Rio and Rod being the noisiest. He couldn't help but smile as the two pumped their fists in the air like little children.

"Yay! Pancakes!"


	3. Rod?

It all ended with Rio in a pool of red.

Shortly after Neil had brought the pancakes to the table, things had appeared to be carrying on as they should. Everyone gave thanks to the Harvest Goddess and then Neil began to dish out food to everyone, trying to give out equal portions, to no avail. Rod immediately turned into a little kid, complaining that he was old enough to serve himself and Rio started saying things that Allen had more than she had. Allen was quick to take advantage of the situation and impaled a pancake with his fork, grabbed Rio and bent her backwards.

"Why don't I let you eat it...from my mouth?" He asked, his voiced borderline seductive as he ripped a piece from the pancake a held it in between his teeth a couple inches away from Rio's open lips.

"H-hey! Stop fooling around with her Allen!" Neil yelled, slamming my fists on the table.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I'm simply trying to serve this dear maiden, something you are so poor at doing."

"Shut up and get a room you failure of a playboy!" Neil chucked a bottle of syrup and his head, and in his attempts to dodge it, Rio seemed to be obliviously in favor of his endeavors, for she jumped out of Allen's arms and reached for it, effectively slamming it into the red haired one's face.

"Ooh! Syrup! Thanks Neil!" She beamed at the blonde, turning into the sweet little kid she truly was. Allen groaned as he sat up rubbing his head, his hair completely disheveled and a bruise forming underneath his bangs.

"Know what, maybe you're right. Maybe I'll just take the room upstairs and bring Rio with me." He smirked and picked the girl up bridal style, yanking her away from her plate of food.

"Wait! Allen! My pancakes!"

"Let go of her already! Who the hell do you think you are?" Neil shouted and tossed a glass plate at him almost as if it was a Frisbee. Neil didn't even flinch as it ricocheted off his face and hit Rio before it flew over and knocked the innocent Rod out of his chair.

"Oww..." The girl was dropped beside Rod on the floor, and the two watched as Allen raised his head, a pair of cracked glasses slapped sideways on his face that was fuming with anger.

"Now you've done it, you ass..." Allen growled and pushed up his glasses before he slipped them off of his face, placing them gently yet forcefully onto the table. He picked up Rio's plate and sent it flying.

"Oh? Now I've done it? You were the one who kept trying to be a flirt and drag her away when she just wanted to eat something! She asked for pancakes, and you've gone and ruined the entire meal!" He gestured to the shards of plate that were in Rod's arm and the pancakes that somehow had flown off of the table and slammed into the wall, syrup drizzling down it. Rod and Rio looked at one another, and the two nodded in agreement and latched onto one of the two boys, Rio pulling Neil back so his head was resting on her chest and Rod started to pull Allen away, until he saw where Neil's head was. Soon, Allen was shoved backwards so far he stumbled and spiraled into a table top lamp.

Neil's face immediately lit up like a house fire in red as he stuttered to find words. Rod seemed to grow slightly pissed as he walked over laughing.

"Ahahaha! You two are such kidders, Neil! Ahahahah! _**No.**_" A dark voice resonated from within the strawberry blonde's throat before Neil was ripped from Rio's confines and thrown across the house until his body collided with a cupboard. Rio froze as Rod approached her, his childish face full of joy darkened with the cold reality typically seen when a student finds out about the consequences of failing a major test. Rio felt as though a demon was looming in front of her, so in the midst of fear, she fled to the upstairs, locking herself in the bathroom.

"Rod? What was that?" Allen stood up and pulled a broken lampshade off of his head, a little bit of blood trickling from his forehead.

"Huh? What are you talking about Allen? Last thing I remember,_**you two were the ones who disturbed Rio from her meal. Is that wrong?"**_

"I...Never mind that! You chucked Neil at a cupboard at ten thousand miles per hour! We're lucky if he's not broken something or has a concussion!"

"Huh? Did I do that?"

"Yes, now come on-WHOA!" Allen yelled as he tripped forward, dragging Rod with him. Apparently, Allen's mobility without his glasses decreased by seventy percent, meaning he was able to trip over thin air at a moment's notice.

"I think we need to worry about someone else getting a concussion." Rod smirked as he pulled the blind bat up, trying to guide him to the kitchen were the lifeless being that was their blonde friend lay clinging slightly to a cupboard handle while the rest of his body was sprawled across the counter above the dishwasher. Syrup and pancakes were littered all around him, for somehow they had managed to make their way into the kitchen. Neil's breathing was ragged, but he was most certainly alive.

"Whoa! Neil? What happened?" Rod blinked innocently.

"Were you not listening to anything I said?! You freaking picked him up and threw him across-"

"Allen," He turned around slowly, "_**If you do not wish to meet the same fate as this puny mortal, I suggest you shut your trap right this instant before I take a knife a cut off all of the mop of hair that could only be achieved through poor dying skills."**_

"Are you suggesting this came from a bottle? How dare you!"

"Allen don't!" Neil raised his head slightly but it was too late. Rod ripped open a drawer and pulled out a butcher knife, grabbed ahold of the hairstylist by his gelled locks and started to cut away without a care. The boy tried to squirm out of the grasp, but the demon only took another knife and held it close to his neck before he stabbed it through his clothes, pinning him jacket to the wooden counter.

"Please...stop..." Allen was practically in tears now, a panic attack at seeing the fate of his favorite head of hair ruined. A quick crash upstairs disturbed the actions of the two and the demon paused and rose, watching carefully as a long haired girl came bounding into the kitchen, a first aid kit in her hand.

"Sorry I took so long! It was hidden beneath a pile of-Oh my god what the heck-"

The girl was travelling at around a speed of two hundred miles per hour, so when her barefoot going at that same speed collided with the silky shorn hair that sat on an already slippery floor, bad things were about to happen.

Then, the first aid kit flew, smacking against the fridge and spilling its contents everywhere, the majority of the bandages flying all over Rio and mummifying her before her head banged against the surface of the floor, and all the boys jumped up and yelled as she laid limp in a pool of red.

"RIO!"


	4. Aftermath

"Oh Goddess...She's dead." Rod knelt beside Rio and with fake tears he gently cradled her head in his lap.

"Neil, she's dead. She's dead and it's all you and Allen's fault and you two will go to jail and I'll be the one who has to bury Rio and explain to the townsfolk and her animals what happened to her. Goodbye my friends! It was nice knowing you, but I am not to be mistaken for a-"

"Rod, shut the fuck up!" Neil yelled as he clenched his fists, "This is all your fault! If you hadn't gone bat shit crazy and decided to throw me against the cupboard or cut Allen's hair, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Allen pulled the knife pinning him to the counter out and set it back in the drawer before walking over to the other three. He stared down at the girl and placed a hand on the angered blonde's shoulder.

"Neil, calm down. Rio's still conscious." Allen muttered, but the two boys' attention snapped to the hazy, barely open blue orbs of the female rancher. Neil's nails dug into his palms as he tightened his fists for a moment before he sighed and looked away from the whole scene.

"..Let's just move her to the upstairs room for now. I'm going to straighten out the dining room."

Without another word, the male wandered off towards the other room, leaving the two males he seemed to hate so much to take care of the one he loved. Allen and Rod's eyes met, and an unspoken agreement was exchanged as Rod lifted Rio's head from his lap, scrutinizing Allen's movements as he crouched down and hoisted Rio up into his arms. Rod slid over across the kitchen floor, gathering what little was salvageable from the first aid kit before following the red haired adult up the stairwell.

Once the door was open and out of the way, the two made work of assessing Rio's body for any injuries during the fall. Her hair line was littered with minor bruising, and a few small cuts were made from the scissors that had flown from the kit. The bandages were packaged, so they were still safe to use. Rio obeyed Allen's commands through a half-asleep state, holding her bangs out of the way as the two tied the white cloth around her head before they laid her down on the bed.

Allen gently pulled the red comforter up to the girl's neck, stepping back and watching with a sad expression as she smiled at him softly.

"Thank you Allen, Rod. Sorry for scaring everyone down there."

"Don't worry about it, Rio. It was our fault. We were horsing around it got not only you, but all of us hurt." Allen stated, folding his arms behind his back as he stared down at the small frame of the girl that seemed to sink deeper into the mattress with every second. Rio's eyes moved to Rod, but the strawberry-blonde man kept his head bowed and his mouth closed. Allen narrowed his eyes for a moment, both in confusion and due to his current vision impairments. (His glasses were cracked and crooked on his nose.)

"Rod, go downstairs and help Neil. I'll stare here and watch Rio. We can't let her go to sleep yet, because we don't know how serious of a concussion she has."

A muffled "...okay..." was all Allen could stir out of the boy, but he trudged out of the room quietly. As soon as they were alone, Rio spoke again.

"Hey Allen?" The red-head turned and smiled at the girl.

"Yes?"

"Why were you acting like that when we were eating?"

Meanwhile, Rod stood at the top of the stairs, his eyes wide as his ears listened to faint and choked curses of his best friend. He could hear the clinking of the broken dishes and the flopping of what he could only assume were pancakes being placed back on plates to be tossed later, but over all of those little backgrounds sounds, he could hear Neil coughing up venomous words through violent sobs.

"You're such a fucking idiot, Neil. Scaring her like that. Why can't you ever learn to do anything fucking right? You know she likes Allen, so why the fucking hell to did you intervene? God, you've already figured out you aren't special, so just accept the fact and move on..." More words spilled from the blonde's lips, but Rod's foot remained frozen in the air above the second step near the top of the stairs. His blue eyes went wide as he bit his lip, trying to stop himself from crying as the words his best friend used to beat himself up worsened with each minute, becoming more and more self-deprecating, but in the least humorous way. Eventually, Neil crossed in front of the stairs on his way to the bathroom, and he glared up at Rod with puffy, red, angry eyes.

"Don't you dare say a word." He croaked before he walked passed the boy, brushing him aside before he stormed into the bathroom. As the door closed, the light vanished, leaving Rod alone in the dark as with only his thoughts.


	5. Worries

Once the bathroom door was closed, Neil clawed at his face and fell to the floor, his emotions running rampant as his heart pounded loudly in his chest.

"You're such an idiot..." He coughed as he wiped away tears and snot on the sleeve of his long black shirt. "First you hurt her, and now you're just being an ass to your friends for no reason. Great job."

For a few moments, Neil sat on the floor, trying to stop the tears that were spilling from his eyes. His mind fought to conjure up something that made him angry, something stronger to replace the sadness tugging on his heart. He scrunched up his face and frowned, but in the end, he settled to resorting to his child-like self and buried his head between his pulled-up knees and chest. Curled up, he fell deep into his thoughts, shutting out the rest of the world.

In this time, Rod's legs had carried him to the foot of the stairs. His mouth was still gaping, but once his foot slipped off the final step, sending him flying into the hardwood, he shut it, and he resumed a more neutral expression for a moment as he stood up. For a moment, he contemplated his actions, wondering what had overtaken him this evening.

Why had he acted so strange? Was it simply him trying to be dark and amusing? Was he trying to lift everyone's spirits? He knew he was right when Rio and him had tried to separate Allen and Neil, but once Rio pulled Neil close to her, he felt another emotion take full control. He felt angry, jealous, and he knew he acted fully demonic and childish when he chucked his best friend into the cabinet and started cutting Allen's hair. It was his fault all of this happened, no matter how one looked at it.

Rod lifted his head and gazed at the front door only seconds before he opened it and stormed out of it.

"What do you mean, Rio?" Allen blinked at the girl.

"I mean, you were trying to feed me with your mouth and you did all the things I see the stupid, jerky guys in animes and chick flicks act, it didn't make any sense why you were doing that." Rio blurted out. Allen's mouth almost dropped open, but he kept his jaw tightly in place as he scanned the girl's eyes for any lies. None.

"...Are you really that dense?" Allen murmured and Rio flinched back at his tone.

"You aren't planning on continuing that act and pinning me down to the bed to make a point, are you?" Rio asked cautiously as she started to shift away underneath the blankets. Allen chuckled and threw his head back.

"I guess you're not then." He smiled and instead settled for brushing back the girl's hair. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't considered pulling the possessive rom-com act, but he had enough restraint. A soft moment of silence stretched over the two of them, Allen ran his fingers through the long blonde locks, letting them slip through the spaces between them.

"I'll still let you mess with my hair, if that's what you're worried about." Rio rolled her eyes.

"Of course I'm not worried about that...I'm just scared that _he _might hurt you. I may be his friend, but that doesn't mean I'm completely immune to his harsh words as well."

"I know that. But I'm not so oblivious that I would just let him walk all over me. If I have to, I'll put him in his place." Rio forced herself into a sitting position, and Allen drew her hand back, staring at the blankets. Rio reached out and placed her hand over his.

"You better not screw up my hair for my wedding."

"Of course I won't."

When Neil's shoulders had stopped shaking, he rose to his feet and staggered forward to the mirror. His eyes were red and puffy, his mind empty but his heart heavy. He sniffed and turned the faucet on, reaching over to the basket where he kept washcloths. He wet one, and began to pat his face with it, trying to conjure up a way to apologize to his best friends and crush.

"Maybe its best if I make something else for us to eat. I'm sure Rio is still hungry, being the pig that she is..." He tried to laugh but it came out a cough. Making sure the faucet was shut off tightly, he hung the washcloth over the shower bar to dry and composed himself as he turned the doorknob.

"Rio?" He muttered as he crossed the upstairs hallway to see his two friends. Rio perked up and Allen twisted his neck to look at Neil, "I was wondering if you wanted anything else to eat for dinner. I know its late, but we didn't really get to eat before the whole-" He waved his hand awkwardly, "-thing happened."

"Oh? You're going to ask the lady what she wants, but not me?" Allen feigned insult, "I'm offended."

"Quiet you." Rio smacked him lightly, "You don't have to do that, really Neil."

"No, it's okay, I swear-" The blonde boy's stomach growled loudly, and Allen burst out in wild laughter.

"Sounds like he's just trying to make up an excuse to fill his own stomach!"

"Hey!"

"Well, I _am _still hungry, so I guess I'll just have something light. Can you make me soup or something?"

"Sure!" Neil said, his face still flustered, and he stalked out of the room, jogging down the steps towards the kitchen. He began to fill a pot with water and turned on the stove. It wasn't until he started running around the kitchen that he realized something.

"Rod?" He asked, craning his neck towards the living room, expecting to see his best friend on the couch watching TV or something. He set down the ingredients on his arms and began to walk through the rooms. "Rod? Rod where are you?"

When he reached the front door, he panicked at the news station talking about how the storm was increasing. He ran up the stairs and searched the other rooms, and his suspicions were quickly confirmed.

"That idiot!" He hissed, and Allen stepped out of Rio's room at the sound.

"Neil, what's wrong?"

"Rod's gone!"

"What? What do you mean?!" He took his friend by the shoulders and spun him to face him.

"He left! I yelled at him earlier and he must have took off! I think he left his phone behind..."

"That idiot..." Allen said, his brow furrowing.

"What's the matter?" The two glanced at the doorway, seeing Rio stumbling about as she leaned against the doorframe with a blanket around her.

"It's nothing Rio-" Neil started.

"Rod ran out." Allen interrupted.

"What?!" She dropped the blanket and stiffened. She grabbed a hair tie from her wrist and tied her hair up and turned back into Neil's room, wrestling his dresser door open and grabbing some pants and a belt. She quickly stepped into them, ignoring the gazes of the boys and adjusted the belt to the tightest setting. She rolled the pants up and brushed past them, running down the stairs to find her shoes.

"Where do you think you're going? You're concussed!" Neil shouted after her as she stole his coat from the rack.

"I'm a farmer. I know this town better than both of you combined. I have to at least make sure he made it home safe. He doesn't live far, but for all we know he could have gone the wrong way in this weather." She cracked the door open, smiling at the two dumbfounded boys.

"Rio, you're crazy." Neil finally got out.

"You better have that soup ready when I get back." She slammed the door closed, and through the curtains they could see the girl scamper off into the rain, wind, and fog, her blonde hair whipping behind her.


	6. Mud, Sweat, and Tears

Rod stormed through the heavy pelting rain, his vision obscured as he looked around to find his way to his house. Had he done right when he left Neil's house? Had he gone left? He had passed a patch of flowers several times, watching as they got saturated by the rain, bending over and pushed back into the earth with the weight of the water.

His foot suddenly collided with a rock, and he was sent tumbling down, his body sliding into a pile of mud. Rod pushed himself up, peering through the gray fogged up air and recognized a place where the land sloped upwards. So he had moved this far already.

"Huh. And I thought I was going in circles." He grinned weakly and sat down in the mud again, running his hand through his hair, dirtying the strawberry blonde locks.

Meanwhile, Rio had made the correct decision to follow her instincts and walk in the opposite direction of where she knew Rod's house was. She made sure she kept her feet straight, never angling them. Eventually, she walked down a hill, and followed to where she knew the outskirts of the main village was. She carefully maneuvered away from the sound of rushing water.

"Rod?!" She called out, getting a mouthful of cold wind and rain. She pushed back her bangs and tilted her head down, trying to protect her eyes from the rain. Water clumped to her eyelashes, and she felt the clothes she had borrowed weighing her down, her shoes sloshing.

"Rod!" She tried again, moving her feet slowly, trying imagine the placement of the meadow and rivers in her head. Her foot bumped a rock, and she felt around on the ground, pinpointing a small dip in the Earth. She crawled along it, her vision practically useless as the point.

"Rod? Where are you?" She shouted, seeing a faint shadow in the distance.

Rod listened to the sound of the pounding rain on his head and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. He had been forced to keep his cold soaked clothes back at Neil's, and he wasn't necessarily dressed for any sort of cold weather. Short sleeves and puffer vest just didn't cut it. He rolled his muddy jeans down to his ankles, desperate to warm himself. Maybe he should try to make his way back, but he had already forgotten which way he fell from.

"Rod!" The boy perked up at the words which were practically whispers in this wind. He turned around, the voice growing louder. He didn't know how to respond, was he just hearing things?

"Neil, please sit down." Allen commanded, his cracked glasses resting a top his head as he leaned over a counter, chopping vegetables carefully. The other was deemed too stressed to cook, and when Allen had taken over despite his bad vision, the former had taken to pacing around the kitchen. "You're just going to hurt yourself."

"Says you! You're trying to cut and cook food without a slightest clue to what you're doing!" As if on cue, Neil walked into a cupboard, too distracted lecturing his friend to pay attention. Allen sighed and tossed the carrots into the pot and waltzed over to his friend with a sigh. He placed his hands on his shoulders and pushed him into a chair.

"Stay." The man started to say, but he stopped when he felt shakes go through the other. He knelt down and made eye contact with his friend, watching with awe as Neil bit his lip, tears running from his ruby eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"It's...It's just that-" Neil stuttered, balling his fists and pressing them against his face. _Dammit, _he thought, _I'm crying again. _"She's so stupid and reckless and doesn't think at all before she pulls some stupid stunt! I see her every day from my booth at the plaza! She runs around the town and through the forest, tripping over things, skidding her knees and hands! She doesn't care! She gets back up and keeps moving! But at the end of the day, those wounds are still there! She's still going to be sore the next day, she still bleeds after a fall, the scabs remain and take time to heal! She doesn't care or understand that she so...so...!"

"Fragile."

"...Yeah..." Neil sucked in a breath of air deeply, closing his eyes and looking away from Allen.

"...You know, I've never seen you cry before."

"Are you trying to mock me?!" He snapped back, but Allen smiled sadly and shook his head, standing up and walking back to the pot of soup.

"Of course not. It's just, different. I've never seen you be so passionate about someone."

Neil folded his arms and pouted, leaning back in the chair as he tried to hide his flushed face.

"Well, it's not like I like seeing her get hurt!"

A moment of silence stretched over the two. Allen grinned as he stirred the soup, glancing over his shoulder at the other.

"She likes you, you know." Neil's face went beet red.

"Quiet! Stop with the lies."

"It's the truth. Why do you think she came to your house in that dress?"

"She probably figured you be here."

"That doesn't make sense, Neil. If she had really wanted to show me it, she would have come straight to my salon. Why would a farm girl even own a dress like that?"

"I don't know." Neil's face kept getting redder by the second. Allen sighed, amused.

"Do you honestly think she, as a farmer, would go out to forage in a dress like that? Do you seriously believe she didn't know it was going to storm?"

"What are you saying?! That she planned it? What would you know?!" Allen gave his friend an almost evil grin from across the room. "...No..."

"Rod and I are simply here to make sure you two don't take things...too far. Let's just leave it at that."

"Rio?" The mud-clad young man stared up in awe at the blonde haired girl. Her hair was dripping down her neck, her clothes clinging to her, her shirt was practically transparent. The heavy coat that he recognized as Neil's iconic one was gigantic on her, she was swimming in the pants and she looked positively like a drowned cat.

"What the hell are you doing out here?!" Rod screamed, anger and rage taking hold of him. He was going to kill Neil and Allen for letting her out when she was possibly hurt. (Speaking of which, the Band-Aids they had placed earlier were now dangling from her hair, soaked and useless.)

"I could ask you the same question!" She screamed back, her blue eyes becoming fiery as she towered over him, "Just because you and Neil had a little fight is no reason for you to venture out in this weather!"

"You're hurt, and it's my fault! I left before I could cause any more problems!"

"What are you talking about?" Her voice grew louder.

"See! You can't even remember it! You're probably concussed! You probably have amnesia! This is what I mean!" He jumped to his feet, glaring down at the girl.

"I don't have amnesia you idiot! I obviously remember falling! I didn't faint during the accident! I mean what are you going off about 'causing more problems'?!"

"I don't want to do something stupid again and hurt you?!"

"What stupid thing could top this act?!"

"I might get jealous and do something bad! I lose my mind when I see you with the other guys!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"I like you! I've told you this already!"

With that, Rio shut her mouth, her face still scrunched up in anger. Rod sighed and cradled his head in his hand.

"...Look, I...I know we've already been over this...You've been over this with Allen too, I'm sure of it, but...I don't care. I like you. I'm always going to. I don't see you as the tomboyish hard-worker farmer like the other guys in the village do. When you're running around town foraging, I see you as a girl. I know, it's stupid. But it's the truth." He opened his eyes and looked up at the girl.

"Rod...I'm really sorry, but you know who I like."

"...Yeah...Why else would you give him gifts everyday...But...in the end, I guess it works out."

"Hmmm?" Rio's expression fell to a blank one, "What do you mean?"

"You're the only girl who can get him to blush."


End file.
